While the first director of the Longwood Graduate Program started in 1967, and the first class graduated from the Program in 1969, the seeds for the Longwood Graduate Program were planted as early as 1958.

Dr. Russell Siebert, director of Longwood Gardens, proposed a joint partnership between Longwood Gardens and the University of Delaware that would support graduate research in ornamental horticulture. In the years following, several students were awarded assistantships from the Longwood Foundation to conduct research at Longwood Gardens.

The success of these graduates prompted Dr. Siebert to propose the development of the Longwood Graduate Program. The University of Delaware and the Board of Trustees at Longwood accepted his proposal in 1966 and thus the Longwood Graduate Program became a reality.

For more information about the history of the Program, see this article in the Longwood Chimes.